100 POINT SECURITY GUIDELINES TO CITIZENS IN HOUSING SOCIETIES

Mr. Quaiser Khalid,

 Addn Commissioner of Police East Region,

Chembur, Mumbai 400071

Tel: 25230893 / 4

http://mumbaipolice.maharashtra.gov.in

100 POINT GUIDELINES TO CITIZENS IN HOUSING SOCIETIES

[Letter written on 23rd April, 2013 by Additional Commissioner of Police, East Region, Mumbai.]

Dear Citizens:

As Additional Commissioner of Police, East Region, I am happy to communicate with you through this initiative. Since I assumed office, I have been reviewing various aspects related to security and welfare of the citizens in the East Region, which comprises of Zone 6 (10 Police stations) & Zone 7 (8 Police Stations).

I would like to share certain important guidelines to be followed by every housing society. Some of the housing soceities may have their own rule book, but may or may not strictly follow them on a day to day basis.

 Hence, as a first step, I would like every Housing Society to take a serious look at the guidelines listed here and implement them immediately. Once implemented, this process will help me and our team to serve you better.

As you may have been reading in the news papers, the majority of offenders are known to the victims - servant, watchman, cook, driver, craftsman, vendors etc. All criminals are generally not on police record and hence several steps and procedures can be implemented at the housing societies, and also by the individuals staying in that society.

The first line of defence against the common criminal may be to prevent him from gaining access to the premises. The most effective access control is an efficient reception/entry/lobby area of the society. So, what follows is therefore only a quick guide to the main considerations that should be adopted and implemented in each and every housing society for the safety of its residents. These security measures are for the benefit of everyone and it will help us to serve you better. So, do not make it an ego issue.

• Secure your home well

1. Install a safety door with iron bars.

2. Install superior quality night latches and special eye lenses on the main door.

3. Install high wattage light source with pilfer proof cover outside the main door.

4. If possible install modern security gadgets (video door bell etc)

5. All interaction with strangers & vendors should be through the grilled door.

6. Never leave spare keys in open or in the conventional hiding places like below the doormat or in flower pots etc. Do not allow your maids to handle your house keys.

7. Verify the identity of any repairman or service man before allowing inside

8. Instantly inform society security about the unacquainted visitors so that their identity could be checked at the very gate of the society.

9. When you admit a labourer or a service man, do not leave him alone at any time.

10. Install an electronic alarm system in each flat to send alarm signals to watchman & other members of the society simultaneously.

11. Inform your society office bearers if you are living alone

12. Talk to at least a couple of your neighbors before you retire for the night

13. Do not leave/expose valuable items anywhere openly within your house

14. Keep your valuable (cash, jewelry) in your bank safety locker

15. Do not talk loudly on your phone about money matters or about your travel plans. • Security Staff / Chowkidars

16. Hire qualified / experienced Chowkidars only

17. Always employ different Chowkidars for day & night duties, and periodically (once in a fortnight) rotate them and never allow them to perform double shift.

18. Check the antecedents/credentials of Chowkidars & Register their details with your police station

19. Do not maintain the same Chowkidars for a longer period of time in your society. It is advisable to change the security staff once in 3- 6 months.

20. As a resident of the society, every individual should be alert and keep a constant watch on the Chowkidars and report any untoward acts by the Chowkidars

21. The security company & the Chowkidars should be instructed clearly about your society rulebook and their duties. They should be told to strictly follow the rulebook.

22. Do not use the Chowkidars for any personal work like; to buy vegetable, to bring auto, carrying your luggage or any other sundry personal work. It’s not their responsibility.

23. Do not tip the Chowkidars for doing your personal work. This will only create problem in the long run and they would expect to be tipped even for performing their main duty.

24. Do not allow the Chowkidars to entertain their friends/outsiders in your society premises

25. Many a times, the Chowkidars are found to be unfit to perform their duty. Notify the security agency for replacement.

26. If they are found drunk during duty time, call the police. We will take immediate action.

27. Most important is to allow the Chowkidar to perform his duty efficiently and constantly monitor his work. Society should nominate 2 / 3 members to do this.

28. Do not unnecessarily argue with him, which will de-motivate him from performing.

29. Chowkidar’s cabin should have a list of emergency contact names & numbers including police numbers for them to reach during emergency (either day or in the night)

• Visitors

30. Register all visitors to your building in the log book, including personal guests along with their name, entry / exit time, visiting flat number etc.

31. Every delivery boy to your society should be registered along with the flat number

32. Order home delivery only from neighborhood shops giving correct bills.

33. Society members should avoid calling all and sundry persons into their flat to bring nonessential items.

34. Strictly avoid individual vendors from entering as far as possible – eg. Egg/Pav, coconut, bartanwala, bhel puri wala etc

35. The Chowkidar should first call the flat owner on intercom, take their permission before allowing the visitor or vendor to their flat

36. In today’s situation, it is absolutely necessary to maintain a detailed Logbook with complete details of the entry / exit of vehicle movements, visitors, vendors. This logbook should be made available to the Police officer when they visit the society and they should get a verification entry in the logbook.

37. Your visitors, relatives & friends should be informed about the procedure that they need to follow when they enter your housing society. Many a times we find that the relative or friend of a flat owner fighting with the Chowkidar for entering their name in the logbook. This results into friction between the Chowkidar and the flat owner and ultimately results into demotivating the Chowkidar on duty.

38. As responsible member of the society, it is also important for a designated committee member to review and scan the logbook periodically (may be once every alternative day or once in 3 days) and take appropriate action. • Domestic help (servants, cook, driver..)

39. Check the antecedents / credentials of domestic help before hiring them & conduct a reference check with their previous employers

40. Obtain Photographs, Ration card copy of the domestic help. Best way is to click a photo of your domestic help is with your family members.

41. Register the details of your domestic help along with his/her photos with the local police station

42. Provide Photo ID cards to all domestic help, drivers and other helpers and they should prominently display the ID’s while they are present inside the society.

43. Avoid discussing money transactions, family matters in the presence of your domestic help / outsiders

44. Do not allow any of the relatives or friends of your domestic help to visit your house. If at all he has any frequent visitors, get his/her antecedents checked from police.

45. Do not humiliate servants on petty matters, nor penalize them for small damages

46. Treat your domestic help in a humane way

47. Inform the society office in writing immediately when you change your domestic help, driver, cook etc so that their entry to the society can be restricted.

48. Remember, your domestic help is the one who knows everything about your movements, what you have in your house etc.

 49. Members carrying out any work must intimate society in writing with details to avoid entry of unwanted elements posing in the names of workers. All these workers should also be given a temporary ID card, which should be prominently displayed while they work in the society.

• CCTV:

CCTV has helped in reducing the crime rate in the monitored areas. The crime rates have come down owing to the surveillance. People tend to behave properly when they know that they are being monitored. With the advancement of technology, security footage monitored through CCTV can be accessed via internet and even through mobile devices.

50. Install CCTV at strategic locations - Entry / Exit gates, Lobby area, common area, front & back side of the society, potential problem area within & outside your society etc.

51. CCTV systems are available in an endless verity of configurations, sizes and function.

52. Form your own technical committee to evaluate the right system for your housing society based on your specific needs.

53. Do not install any system, simply because it is installed by your neighboring society. The topography, the needs, the spread of your society may be different from your neighbour. Hence, it’s important that your designated technical committee evaluates multiple CCTV options, before deciding on the one which may be best suited for your housing society needs.

54. Installing CCTV is not the end of your security measure. It’s equally important to monitor and take corrective action.

55. Besides day-to-day monitoring, designated society members should review the CCTV footage on a periodical basis & report any suspicious incidents to the local police.

56. Create a detailed procedure manual for recording, storing, reviewing and to take action. The success/failure of CCTV installation really depends on this process.

57. Remember, CCTV is a very vital tool for police investigations and hence all measures should be taken to help the police in case of any incident in your area. • Environment & Other Issues

58. Entry & Exit gates should always be closed to avoid any unauthorized entries.

59. Sufficient space around building should always be kept free for any emergency movement. Do not block the common areas of the society.

60. Allow only the vehicles with your society stickers to be parked inside your building compound. All other vehicles should be parked outside.

61. If space available, mark one of two areas as visitors car park area.

62. Designate an area, near the entry gate for vendors to park their delivery vehicles

63. As far as possible avoid bringing outside vehicles (auto/taxi) into your society. Bring them only if they are absolutely essential like movement of old people, luggage etc

64. Instruct / advise all your friends & relatives to obey the rules and regulations and inform them well in advance about the security measures set by your society.

65. Tenant Verification: It is mandatory for landlords to get the police verification of your tenants by filling up the particulars of the tenant. Police uses the information provided by you to verify the tenant for any criminal records that they may have. • Instruct the Chowkidars / Lift-men

66. To enquire if any unknown vehicle is parked inside / outside the building for a long time

67. To inform the police in case they find any vehicle parked inside the building (if the ownership is not known) for a long time

68. Inform police of any unclaimed object found in suspicious circumstances

69. Inform police about any suspicious happening in and around your housing society

GENERAL PRECAUTIONS A) Banking & Finance Related

70. Never introduce an unknown person for the purpose of opening an account in your bank

71. Never encash cheques / drafts of an unknown person through your account

72. Do not keep your account non-operational for a long time

73. Keep a track on the cheques / drafts / pay orders sent through post and courier service

74. All bank transactions should be handled personally and not through third party

75. Do not keep signed cheques in the drawer or in a place with easy access.

76. Counter check all your bank transactions to ensure that the cheques have been realized.

77. The account holder should physically check the cash when you withdraw the cash.

78. Never hand over the cash to a third person for counting

79. Avoid taking any post dated cheques

 80. Insist on DD or pay orders if you are dealing with an unknown party

81. If a cheque bounces, send a notice to the person within 15 days. If you don not receive a reply, file a complaint in the count under section 138 of the Negotiable Instrument Act 1981, where effective remedies are available to the public. All cases of bounced cheques may not be offences of cheating under the IPC.

82. Never respond to emails asking for your credit card information, No banks asks for this information. B) Fraud Money Schemes / emails

83. Do not get carried away by offers to double your money in 2 months, investments in wonder projects or plantations, multi-level gifting of money etc, receiving posted dated cheques as guaranteed payments etc.

84. There are no projects, which can double your money in 2 months

85. None of these schemes / offers are reliable and have no legal sanction

86. Post dated cheques is not a guaranteed payment device, as they could bounce when you finally present them to encash.

87. Gift schemes and chains are an offence under the prize chits and money circulation schemes (Banning) Act of 1978

88. Even registered companies are not allowed to promote and run any such schemes

89. Do not replay to any unknown email asking for your contact details, address, bank account number etc. Simply delete these mails immediately. C) Vehicle Theft

90. Park in a secure parking facility or in a well-lit area.

91. If possible get your car number etched on your windscreens and window glasses. This helps the authorities to trace your car if stolen

92. Use securing devices like steering lock, clutch lock, break lock etc

93. Install sound alarm system, which will discourage the thieves

94. Never leave the key dangling in the ignition

95. Do not leave valuables inside the car, even if it is locked

96. Never leave the car door unlocked, nor windows partially opened.

 97. Do not overdo extra fittings as these tempt prospective thieves

98. Use detachable music systems and take them with you when ever you park the vehicle

99. Never leave your car key with your security guards, or car cleaners. Even electronic (chip based) keys can be duplicated

100. Report the theft to the nearest police station and inform your insurance company.